Shape Stabilized flood Protection Wall Segment

ABSTRACT

The flood protection wall&#39;s shape stabilized segment affords an increased level of protection and is made up of a water fillable bag whose shape, when full, is defined by the plane of the base and the dome-shaped casing with a convex surface that is attached to the base by two plane faces. It is characterized by the fact that the complex convex casing surface ( 1 ) consists of three basic convex areas—front foot area ( 2 ), central blocking area ( 3 ) and rear foot area ( 4 ). In the casing&#39;s design, the front foot area ( 2 ) and rear foot area ( 4 ) are connected by straight lines to the central blocking area ( 3 ). In the direction of these lines, there is a front partition ( 5 ) connected to the inside wall of the bag&#39;s casing ( 1 ) and a rear partition ( 6 ) connecting the casing ( 1 ) with the base ( 7 ) in such a way that the upper edges of front and rear partitions ( 5, 6 ) are at the same stabilizing height (v′) with respect to the base ( 7 ) and their lower edges are connected to the inside wall of the base ( 7 ) at the point where the width (s) of the base ( 7 ) is divided into two unequal parts. At this point, the front partition ( 5 ) forms an angle (a) of 70 to 90° with the rear partition ( 6 ). The casing ( 1 ) is equipped with at least one filling channel ( 8 ), at least one air channel ( 9 ) and at least one exhaust channel ( 10 ).

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The invention is about a shape stabilized flood protection wall segment. The segment is water fillable and is used to construct a wall for temporary damming and as a sealing element for quick protection of various objects against floods. Because of the higher level of protection provided this segment is very useful for floods and disaster situations.

The development of flood protection tools, especially emergency and dismountable ones, has basically gone through two stages. Besides open flood protection bags—tanks that can be filled with various material, closed bags have also been used for a long time. Open tanks are made from a massive, but easy to assemble, skeleton of steel tubes to which a sufficiently impermeable casing made of geotextile or a plastic fabric sheet is anchored. These tanks are filled with sand, soil or, in the case of an impermeable casing, even water. Closed systems—bags —are mostly filled with water and usually have an impermeable casing made of chemically resistant plastic, mainly a low-density polyethylene. Their shape stability can be maintained the same way as with open tanks, by an external supporting construction made of rods or tubes. Another alternative is partitions placed inside the bag at regular intervals.

Open tanks are usually of trapezoid shapes; closed bags are essentially triangular in their cross-section. A common disadvantage of both of these systems is that their shape is not very suitable. Depending on the material used, this shape needs to be stabilized by a supporting construction or internal partitions. Nevertheless, the bag's design itself often leads to a concentration of tension at the top of the cross-section.

A dome shaped bag with one or more convex surfaces appears to be more advantageous compared to the above mentioned shape configurations. In this shape configuration, the mechanical strain on the bag's casing is reduced because the surface that is in contact with water reacts better to the flood water forces, which in turn are defined by gravity and surface tension. This dome shaped configuration makes it possible to attain better stability and resistance against a massive water load even when ordinary casing material is used.

However, despite using a dome shaped bag with a resistant plastic casing or possibly even reinforced textile, for example polyester impregnated with polyvinylchloride, complete endurance and reliability, as is demanded in some applications, has still not been achieved. The same applies for other well known bags with a partitioned design, where to a certain extent, the complexity of the design's construction and production make up for the casing material's relatively insufficient physicomechanical parameters. The resulting effect is not as satisfactory because the mechanical resistance of the casing material, whose role is irreplaceable, is a limiting factor.

So bearing in mind that, to date, the dome shape principle is the best there is, specialists have focused their attention on optimizing the casing material. The construction of a flood protection wall segment is based on patent CZ 291602 of a water fillable bag, where the segment has a fabric casing, which is impregnated on both sides with an elastomeric compound made up of a combination of ethylene-propylene-diene natural rubber and butadiene styrene natural rubber. This flood protection bag affords high endurance to the effects of a massive water load even in long-term applications, partly due to the casing material composition and partly due to the compatibility of the bag's dome shape.

The water fillable bag configuration, based on patent CZ 291602 and used to create the flood protection wall segment, is a significant improvement in comparison to the previous models of flood protection bags, especially with regard to the casing material. However, the possibilities of shape optimization of the bag's basic dome design have still not been fully utilized, especially as far as the shape's internal stabilization in relation to the direction and effects of the water load is concerned. So despite this bag material optimization, the current design construction is a limiting factor in its application range; it also limits the upper level cut-off for usage of this flood protection bag.

SUMMARY

The above mentioned deficiencies and disadvantages in the configuration of flood protection bags known to date have been significantly reduced by using, based on the invention, a shape stabilized segment consisting of a water fillable bag as part of the flood protection wall. The invention is based on the fact that the shape of the water filled segment of the flood protection wall is defined by the plane of the base and the domed casing with a convex surface, which is attached to the base by two plane faces. The complex convex casing surface consists of three basic convex areas—front foot area, central blocking area and rear foot area. The front and back foot areas in the casing's design are separated from the central blocking area by connecting linear lines. A front partition is connected to the inside wall of the casing in the direction of these lines. The rear partition connects the casing to the base in such a way that the upper edges of the front and rear partition are at the same stabilizing height with respect to the base and their lower edges are connected to the inside wall of the base at a point that divides the width of the base into two unequal parts. The front and the rear partitions are held together at this point at an angle of 70° to 90°. The casing in the central blocking area is equipped with at least one filling channel and one air channel. At the same time, the rear foot area is equipped with at least one exhaust channel.

The stabilizing height at which the upper edges of the front and rear partition are clamped is 0.6 to 0.8 times the total height of the side of the casing. From the profile view, the base is divided into two unequal parts at the point where the front and rear partitions are clamped to the base; the part adjacent to the front foot area is larger than the part adjacent to the rear foot area. The height of the casing to the width of the base ratio is between 1:2 to 3:4.

The casing material of the segment as well as all the stabilizing partitions are conveniently made of fabric impregnated on both sides with a mixture containing a combination of the elastomers ethylene-propylene-diene natural rubber (EPDM) and butadiene styrene natural rubber (SBR).

According to the invention, the primary advantage of a shape stabilized flood protection wall segment is the optimization of the basic dome shaped design of the bag, especially as far as internal stabilization of the design shape with regard to direction and effects of the water load is concerned. The application range for this bag of optimal shape and material is very high due to its design and system of internal partitions. The result is an increase in the safety height of the segment and consequently, a wider range of possible uses of this flood protection bag.

FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a flood protection wall segment with a casing formed by three convex surfaces,

FIG. 2 shows a flood protection wall segment with a casing formed by five convex surfaces,

FIG. 3 shows a flood protection wall segment whose base has a non-linear shape and the casing is formed by three convex surfaces in each section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES EXAMPLE 1

According to FIG. 1, the complex convex casing 1 surface of the flood protection wall segment, which is formed by the water fillable bag, consists of three parts: front foot area 2, central blocking area 3 and rear foot area 4. At the same time, the front foot area 2 and rear foot area 4 adjoin with the base 7 and are, from a profile view, separated from the central blocking area 3 that is situated between them by straight lines. In the direction of these lines, the front partition 5 and rear partition 6 are connected to the inside wall of the bag's casing 1. Both these partitions connect the casing 1 to the base 7 in such a way that the upper edges of the front and rear partitions 5, 6 are with regard to the base 7 at the same stabilizing height v′ which forms 75% of the casing's 1 total height v. The lower edges of the front and rear partitions 5, 6 are connected to the inside wall of the base 7 at the point that divides the width s of the base 7 into a section adjacent to the front foot area 2, which forms 65% of the width s, and the rest of the section adjacent to the rear foot area 4. The front partition 5 forms a 70° degree angle with the rear partition 6 in the profile projection. The filling channel 8 and air channel 9 are in the central blocking area 3. The exhaust channel 10 is in the rear foot area 4. The filling channel 8, air channel 9 and exhaust channel 10 are equipped with a standard fire-hose connector. (Note: the air channel 9 in FIG. 1 overlaps with the filling channel 8.)

The height of the casing 1 depicted in the profile of the bag is ⅔ of the base's 7 width s. The casing 1 and partitions 5, 6, 11, 12 are made of fabric impregnated on both sides with the elastomers EPDM and SBR in a mass ratio of 2:3.

Due to the complex convex casing 1 surface, which is concurrent with the front partition 5 and rear partition 6, this stabilized segment configuration enables the transfer and spread of force caused by the water load throughout the projected design so well that the load of the weight is carried evenly using all sections of the bag's design. This way, the concentration of tension in the upper area of the design's cross-section is minimized and there is an increased endurance and possibility of load bearing of the whole segment. Correspondingly, the level for safe use of this flood protection bag also increases. In this case, the height v is 140 cm.

EXAMPLE 2

The flood protection wall segment formed by a water fillable bag in FIG. 2 also has a complex convex casing 1 surface, which is essentially made up of three parts: front foot area 2, central blocking area 3 and rear foot area 4. At the same time, the front foot area 2 and rear foot area 4 adjoin with the base 7 and are, from the profile view, separated from the central blocking area 3 situated between them by straight lines. In the direction of these lines, the front partition 5 and rear partition 6 are connected to the inside wall of the bag's casing 1. Both these partitions connect the casing 1 to the base 7 in such a way that the upper edges of the front and rear partitions 5, 6 are with respect to the base 7 at the same stabilizing height v′, which is 0.6 times the height v of the casing 1. The lower edges of the front and rear partitions 5, 6 are connected to the inside wall of the base 7 at the point that divides the width s of the base 7 into a section adjacent to the front foot area 2, which forms 55% of the width s, and the rest of the section adjacent to the rear foot area 4. The front partition 5 forms a 90° degree angle with the rear partition 6 in the profile projection.

Compared to Example 1, the central blocking area 3 has a more complex configuration. It has a canopied area 3′ in its upper part, which is separated from the remaining parts 3″ of the central blocking area 3 by a canopied partition 11. This partition is placed horizontally in the same manner as the central partition 12. The central partition 12 connects the upper edges of the front and rear partitions 5 and 6. It is situated at height v′, which corresponds to 60% of the casing's 1 entire height v.

The filling channel 8 and air channel 9 are created in the canopied area 3′. The exhaust channel 10 is created in the rear foot area 3. (In FIG. 2, the air channel 9 overlaps with the filling channel 8.) The filling channel 8, air channel 9 and exhaust channel 10 are equipped with a standard fire-hose connector.

The height v of the casing 1 in the design depicted is ½ the width s of the base 7. Casing 1 and partitions 5, 6, 11, 12 are made of fabric impregnated on both sides with the elastomer mixtures EPDM and SBR in a mass ratio of 2:3.

According to the invention, due to the complex convex casing 1 surface, which is concurrent with the front partition 5, rear partition 6 and central partition 12, this stabilized segment configuration enables an optimal transfer and spread of forces caused by the water load throughout the projected design in such a way that the concentration of tension in the cross section of the design's upper area is prevented and is further stabilized with the help of the canopied partition 11. Thus, there is an increased endurance and possibility of load bearing of the whole segment. The level for safe use of this flood protection bag also increases in this way. In this case, the height v is 200 cm.

EXAMPLE 3

As seen in FIG. 3, according to the invention, a shape stabilized segment of the flood protection wall can also be constructed in a configuration where the base 7 has a non-linear shape—here the base 7 has two vertical rectangular segments 7′, which are connected by a trapezoidal segment 7″. The casing 1 is connected continuously to all the segments of the base 7 so aligned and is subdivided into the front foot area 2, central blocking area 3 and rear foot area 4, as seen in example 1. The casing 1 in the central blocking area 3 over here is also equipped with at least one filling channel 8 and exhaust channel 9.

The casing height 1 in the bag's profile is ¾ of the width s of the base 7. The casing 1 and front and rear partitions 5, 6 are made of fabric impregnated on both sides with a PVC polymer. Over here, the total height v of the casing's profile is 140 cm.

The non-linear segment is meant to connect linear segments around corners so as to maintain impermeability and stability of the blocking system if another non-linear barrier is required.

According to the invention, the flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment can be used to assemble walls meant for temporary damming and as a sealing element for quick protection of various objects against flooding. Because of the increased level of protection, this segment is useful during floods and disaster situations. It is particularly useful in the direct protection of houses; the segment makes it possible to create a dry island around the house by choosing a suitable configuration of linear and non-linear segments. Furthermore, it is possible to use the segment for temporary storage of contaminated water and other material up to a certain concentration. The flood protection wall can also be used as a decontamination container with the possibility of transporting decontaminated material along with the flood-protection wall to the designated place. 

1. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment affords an increased level of protection and is made up of a water fillable bag whose shape, when full, is defined by the plane of the base and the dome-shaped casing with a convex surface that is attached to the base by two plane faces, characterized by that the complex convex casing surface (1) consists of three basic convex areas—front foot area (2), central blocking area (3) and rear foot area (4), the front foot area (2) and rear foot area (4) are in the casing's design connected by straight lines to the central blocking area (3); in the direction of these lines, there is a front partition (5) connected to the inside wall of the bag's casing (1) and a rear partition (6) connecting the casing (1) with the base (7) in such a way that the upper edges of front and rear partitions (5, 6) are at the same stabilizing height (v′) with respect to the base (7); this height is 0.6 to 0.8 times the entire height (v) of the casing's design (1); their lower edges are connected to the inside wall of the base (7) at the point where the width (s) of the base (7) is divided into two unequal parts; the section adjacent to the front foot area (2) is larger than the section adjacent to the rear foot area (4); the front partition (5) forms an angle (a) of 70 to 90° with the rear partition (6); furthermore, at least one filling channel (8) and one air channel (9) is formed in the central blocking area (3) of the casing (1), and moreover, the rear foot area is equipped with at least one exhaust channel (10).
 2. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that the upper part of the central blocking area (3) of the casing (1) has a canopied area (3′) as opposed to the remaining side parts (3″) of the central blocking area (3), which are separated by a canopied partition (11) that is placed horizontally in the same way as the central partition (12) connecting the upper edge of the front and rear partitions (5, 6), and lying at a height (v′), which is 0.6 to 0.8 times the entire height (v) of the casing's design (1).
 3. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that the ratio of the height (v) of the casing (1) to the width (s) of the base (7), which ranges from 1:2 to 3:4.
 4. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that that its casing (1) and stabilizing partitions (5, 6, 11, 12) are made of fabric impregnated with elastomer mixtures on both sides.
 5. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that its casing (1) and stabilizing partitions (5, 6, 11, 12) are made of fabric impregnated on both sides with a mixture based on the combination of the elastomers EPDM and SBR.
 6. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that its casing (1) and stabilizing partitions (5, 6, 11, 12) are made of fabric impregnated with plastic, particularly polyvinylchloride, on both sides.
 7. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that the filling channels, air channels and exhaust channels (8, 9, 10) are equipped with standard fire-hose connectors.
 8. The flood protection wall's shape stabilized segment according to claim 1, characterized by that it is equipped with detachable elements (13). 